


No Roots

by EmberForge



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Drinking, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Recreational Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 05:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17656970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmberForge/pseuds/EmberForge
Summary: “You think trees look down at us and think, ‘sup losers’?”Two different people. Two different answers.





	No Roots

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from “No Roots” by Alice Merton. Would y’all do me a favor and go listen to it and leave me a comment telling me which Mighty Nein member it fits best? Because I’m torn.

Beau is very, _very_ high. Maybe she shouldn’t have taken those drugs, but as soon as Mollymauk dared her to do it, she couldn’t back down. And anyways, it was a good kind of high; at least, for now. She absentmindedly watched the colors swirl at the edge of her vision as she and the rest of the Nein wandered down the forest path.

One of the swirls of color actually came up to bump into her shoulder. It took her a second to recognize that the swirl was in fact Molly himself, and once she made the connection she giggled. Fuck. Where did that come from?

Molly leaned his weight into her, before taking out one of his swords and reaching it above his head, sacking it on some overhead branches and making early fall leaves flutter down on their heads as they passed beneath.

“You think trees look down at us and think, ‘sup losers’?” Beau asked, staring intently on a red leaf that had gotten stuck to her sash.

“Oh yeah.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I mean, they get to be big and imposing and soak in the sun all day, and we’re tiny and have to deal with, I dunno, taxes and bullshit. I’d look down on me if I were a tree.”

“Molly, you don’t pay taxes!” Jester exclaimed from a few feet to their left.

Molly’s hands rummaged through his pockets. “Oh my gods. I don’t? Where did all my money go then?”

“You spent it all on booze at the inn last night,” Nott explained.

“Huh. Right. Well, these drugs are _fantastic_ for a hangover cure.”

A small snort from Beau quickly turned into full on laughter as Molly tripped on a tree root and went sprawling to the ground. 

 

—————

 

She’s drunk. She knows for certain that she’s drunk. But after all the shit that they just went through, the fact that she can feel safe enough to be this far gone is amazing. 

She left the bustle of the Evening Nip in favor of the dark streets of Zadash. The cool night air felt nice on her flushed skin, and she took a deep breath as she scanned the area. With only the slightest sway in her step, she wandered over to a big tree about ten yards away, and only noticed when she was right in front of it that there was a familiar figure already sitting beneath its branches. She plopped down next to him, stumbling slightly as she did so. “Hey.”

“Hey, Beau,” Caduceus replied.

She leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree and looked toward the sky. Hundreds of stars glittered against the dark blue, and she found herself getting lost for a bit trying to pick out constellations that she could only half remember. 

“It was difficult to see the stars because of all the trees back home,” Caduceus said as she gazed upward. “But sometimes, I’d climb to the top of the tallest tree I could find to see them. There were even more than you can see here. I even saw a shooting star, once.”

“What’d you wish for?” Beau asked.

“A sign that things would get better.” Caduceus smiled warmly. “Not too long after, you all showed up at my door.”

Memories flashed into her mind. Signs of a struggle. The glint of metal. Red on purple. Desperation and fear. A coat, flapping in the breeze. “You... you think trees look down at us and think, ‘sup losers’?” The words end up tumbling out of her mouth, unbidden.

“Nah.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, trees grow by planting their roots as firmly as they can. We grow by knowing our roots, but then we can uproot them and find a place where we can flourish. We come and go everywhere and create amazing stories to bring with us as we go. Most trees think that’s pretty amazing.”

“Really?”

“Sure. At least, that’s what the trees I’ve met have thought. Just never insult a tree, okay? They’re really proud, and don’t take too kindly to it.”

Beau immediately stopped picking at the bark of the tree they were sitting against. “Don’t be mean to trees. Got it.”

Caduceus gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder, and the two were content to continue stargazing in silence. At one point, Beau could swear that the full moon overhead flared brighter when she looked at it. She blinked hard against the alcohol in her system, and when she looked again it was the same it had been all night.

**Author's Note:**

> Got that prompt from tumblr, I think. The question set off some thoughts, so here we are!


End file.
